Hand application tool for laying sealant spacer strip on glass or like material

ABSTRACT

An hand application tool for laying a sealant spacer strip along a glass sheet for forming insulating glass units having a handle with first and second ends; a base having freely rotatable rollers connected to the first end of the handle; and a housing connected to the first end of said handle and to the base the housing having a positioning roller, at least one guide pin and a housing roller wherein the at least one guide pin and the housing roller form a guideway for deploying the adhesive strip and the housing roller provides pressure for applying the sealant spacer strip onto the glass sheet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus for laying an adhesivestrip such as a sealant spacer strip along the peripheral edges of aglass sheet where positioning such a strip is one step in the assemblyof an insulating glass unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, the procedure for assembling an insulating window structureinvolves placing one sheet of a glazed structure, such as glass, overanother in a fixed, spaced relationship, with a spacing and sealingmeans located at and along the periphery of the two structures, therebyforming a sandwich-type structure having a sealed air space between thestructures. The sealed air space provides improved insulationcapabilities. Difficulties exist, however, in the manufacture of thewindows, especially the deployment and positioning of the sealant spacerstrip.

To keep the glazed structures properly spaced apart, a rigid spacerstrip is formed into a frame and placed between the two structures tomaintain proper spacing after which the sealant composition is injectedinto a channel formed by this spacer frame and the edges of the glazedstructures. Alternatively, the rigid spacer can be pre-coated withsealant and placed into the space between the glazed structures to formthe insulating window structure.

Sealant spacer strips can be continuous whereby a single strip runswithout interruption along the entire periphery of the glass sheet andhas the flexibility to be bent into corners. When using flexiblespacers, the degree of flexibility should be sufficient to permit aspacer to be bent around a corner. If it is not flexible enough, thespacer must be cut or notched to facilitate this bending. The manualapplication of a continuous strip, however, can require considerableability on the part of the installer, especially to form consistentcorners and if corners require notching, to properly place the notch.Also, continuous spacer strips may need to be removed and re-positioned,if the spacer strip is placed in incorrectly on the glass sheet.

One conventional method of assembling or making an insulating windowunit consists of starting at one corner applying an adhesive strip,typically a sealant spacer strip, along a peripheral edge of a glazedstructure, forming corners where required, cutting the strip to lengthafter formation of the last corner and then positioning a second glazedstructure thereon to form a panel with an sealant spacer strip holdingthe glazed structures apart from each other.

Applying the sealant spacer strip by hand can be time consuming andresult in poor or inconsistent positioning of the sealant spacer strip.Also, the manufacturer must apply pressure by hand to get the sealantspacer strip to adhere to the glass sheet. The inconsistency of thispressure results in inconsistent adherence of the sealant spacer stripto the glass sheet.

In order to alleviate some of these problems, application tools havebeen used to lay down sealant spacer strips on glass sheets. These toolsrequire that the sealant spacer strip be threaded through the tool andmust remain threaded in the tool until a complete assembly isfabricated. Many application tools make it difficult to reposition amis-deployed threaded strip, because the device cannot be easilydisengaged from the sealant spacer strip and re-deployed in the middleof fabricating an insulating glass unit. Instead the tool must be runback over the strip to the place of mis-deployment and then the stripre-positioned. This is often not possible forcing the windowmanufacturer to scrap the mis-deployed strip. Also, many of the tools donot provide capabilities for determining where the sealant spacer stripshould be notched for cornering.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool that easilyapplies the sealant spacer strip along the peripheral edges of a glasssheet.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a handapplication tool for applying a strip of material to a surface of aglass sheet or other member adjacent to the periphery thereof whereinthe strip of material may be re-positioned if necessary.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a hand applicationtool is provided having a guideway formed by a series of pins androllers to enable the enable the precise deployment along the glasssheet periphery, formation of corners in the sealant spacer strip,provide consistent down-pressure for contacting the strip on the glasssheet and providing a means for easier for re-positioning of sealantspacer strip improperly deployed on the glass sheet.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a guideplate and associated guide rollers for varying the distance between theedges of the glass members and the sealant/spacer strip.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustabledown pressure roller and an adjustable front positioning roller toaccommodate varying thicknesses or gauges of sealant spacer strip.

In another embodiment, a targeting system is provided which is capableof projecting an indicator light to aid the user in determining wherethe sealant spacer strip should be turned to form a corner and/ornotched for cornering.

In yet another embodiment, a cutting mechanism is provided for notchingor cutting the sealant spacer strip in order to form corners.

Other objects and the further scope of applicability of the presentinvention will become apparent from the detailed description givenhereinafter. It should be understood, however, that this detaileddescription, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, isgiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is side elevational view showing an embodiment of the presentinvention during the application of a strip on a glass sheet positionedon a work table;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the front portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another side view of the front portion of the embodiment ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the housing of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a view of the underside of the housing of the embodiment ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, as seen in FIG. 1, there is shown a worktable 10 having a glass sheet 12 placed on it so that an sealant spacerstrip 14 may be laid along the peripheral edge of the glass sheet 12 bya hand application tool 16 of the present invention. A second glasssheet is then subsequently placed on the top surface of the sealantspacer strip 14 to form an insulating glass unit (“IGU”).

The hand application tool 16 of the present invention, generally denotedas 16, has a handle 18 connected at one end to a housing 20 and at anopposing end to a handle support 22. The handle support 22 is in turnconnected to a base plate 24. As can be best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4,at the end of the base plate 24, opposite the handle support 22, thebase plate has a base plate bracket 26.

The base plate bracket 26 may be affixed to the base plate 24 as aseparate component or may be integral with it. The base plate bracket26, as illustrated, generally has a lower portion connected to the baseplate 24 and a top portion affixed to and supporting the housing 20. Inthis manner, these components form a frame for the hand application tool16.

At end of the handle 18 opposite the housing 20 is an air inlet nozzle28 capable of being connected to a source of forced air such as an airhose for activating a cutting mechanism. Of course, one of skill in theart will readily appreciate that any number of other electromechanicalmechanisms may be used to drive the cutting mechanism. Also, notillustrated, but located in the vicinity of the air inlet nozzle 28 is apower coupling so that a power supply may be connected to the handapplication tool 16.

The hand application tool 16 has a series of rollers, guides and pinsfor deploying and positioning sealant spacer strip 14 onto glass sheets12. As can be seen in FIG. 3, a front roller 30 is mounted on an axle ofthe base plate 24 so that the front roller 30 is freely rotatable aboutthe axle. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, on the opposing side of thebase plate 24 is located a second, corresponding front roller 30 a.Front roller 30 a, like its counterpart, is mounted on an axle locatedon the base plate 24 and is likewise freely rotatable about itsrespective axle. As can also be best seen in FIG. 1, a set of rearrollers 32, 32 a is also provided. These rollers are also mounted on anaxle attached to the base plate 24.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the hand application tool 16also has a series of guide rollers 36, 38 and 40 oriented horizontallyto the guide plate 56. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front guide roller isattached to the front of the guide plate 56, and the front guide roller36 may freely rotate about an axle. As illustrated, the front guideroller 36 is oriented horizontally relative to the base plate. In otherwords, the front guide roller 36 rotates in the plane perpendicular tothe plane of rotation of the front and rear rollers 30, 30 a and 32, 32a. Besides the front guide roller 36, a middle guide roller 38 and arear guide roller 40 may be provided. At least two guide rollers areused for ensuring proper contact and spacing between the handapplication tool 16 and the edge of the glass sheet 12. The middle guideroller 38 can be best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. The rear guide roller 40can be seen in FIG. 2 and is located towards the back edge of the guideplate 56, which in turn is attached to the base plate 24. These rollersdetermine the position of the tool relative to the glass sheets.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hand application tool 16 can alsoinclude a series of positioning pins 42, 42 a, and 43 attached to thehousing and extending downward so that the pins are oriented generallyvertically. In one embodiment, the pins 42, 42 a and 43 are attached tothe housing and can freely rotate. Additionally, the pins can be encasedwith a sleeve of polymeric material of varying thickness foraccommodating sealant spacer strips of differing thickness. Thus, thepins 42, 42 a and 43, the down-pressure roller 52 and front positioningroller 34 form a guideway for the accurate and consistent deployment ofthe sealant spacer strip 14. The guideway enables the user to turn thehand application tool 16 when deploying sealant spacer strip for theeasy formation of corners within the strip. It also allows the user toremove the hand application tool 16 from the sealant spacer strip andre-position sealant spacer strip as necessary, which is particularlyadvantageous when the user is only partially finished deploying thestrip. Conversely, the hand application tool 16 can be easilyre-positioned on a sealant spacer strip already adhered to the glasssheet 12 to finish deploying the strip and forming the insulating glassunit.

As can also be seen in FIG. 5 is the cutting mechanism of an embodimentof the present invention. In one embodiment, the cutting mechanismcomprises a blade 44 capable of back and forth movement generallyparallel to the glass sheet 12 within a slot or blade guide 46 andcontacting with an anvil 48. The cutting mechanism can be activated by ablade activation knob or button 50 powered by the air supply or anyother known means for reciprocating a blade. The cutting mechanism mayalso have different cut depth activation buttons. In this embodiment,for instance, by activating the first activation button, the sealantspacer strip 14 is notched so that it can be bent to form a corner. Itis notched by partially cutting into the sealant spacer strip 14. Inthis case, the cutting blade 44 stops short of the anvil. If the secondactivation button is activated, the cutting blade 44 extends further tototally cut off the sealant spacer strip 14. This cut is performed atthe final corner of the insulating glass unit to complete deployment ofthe sealant spacer strip 14.

To further aid in the deployment of the sealant spacer strip 14, in oneembodiment the hand application tool may also include a down-pressureroller 52 for placing pressure on the sealant spacer strip 14 duringdispensing. As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the down-pressure roller 52rotates on an axle partially contained within a slot in the underside ofthe housing. The down-pressure roller 52 forms part of the previouslydescribed guideway. The adjustable axle or shaft is ultimately connectedto a down-pressure roller adjustment knob 54. By turning thedown-pressure roller adjustment knob, the down-pressure roller 52 may bemoved up or down within the down-pressure roller channel 52. Thedown-pressure roller is spring loaded so small variations in sealantspacer strip height can be maintained while keeping the downwardpressure on the sealant spacer strip generally uniform. In operation,the down-pressure roller exerts pressure on the sealant spacer strip 14to adhere it to the glass sheet 12.

To further aid in the positioning and deployment of the sealant spacerstrip, the hand application tool may also include an adjustable guideplate 56 to provide a means for laying the sealant spacer strip a properdistance from the edge of the glass sheet. By maintaining contactbetween the edge of the guide rollers 36, 38 and 40 of the guide plate56 and the glass sheet 12, the user is able to control the properspacing of the sealant spacer strip from the edge or periphery of theglass sheet.

In order to adjust the guide rollers 36, 38, and 40, the guide plateattachment screws 58, 58 a are loosened. Then the guide plate adjustmentknob 60 is turned to move the guide plate back and forth across thebottom surface of the base plate until the guide rollers 36, 38 and 40contact the glass sheet 12 at the desired distance so that the sealantspacer strip is applied at the desired location on the glass sheet 12.Once the desired position is attained, the screws 58, 58 a are tightenedto fix the guide plate 56 in place and deployment of the sealant spacerstrip may proceed.

Attached to the front of the housing is a front positioning roller 34.In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the frontpositioning roller 34 can be attached to the housing via an adjustableattachment 62 such as a screw or bolt in a slot. If the screw or bolt isloosened, the front positioning roller 34 can be slidably moved within aslot or groove in the attachment 62. Once the desired height for thefront positioning roller 34 is found, the screw or bolt can be tightenedto frictionally engage the outer surface of the attachment. Of course,one of skill in the art will readily appreciate that other types ofattachments that allow adjustment of the height of the front positioningroller may be used.

The hand application tool 16 of the present invention may also have atargeting system to alert the user where the sealant spacer strip 14must be notched and where to form corners. The targeting system maycomprise a set of laser ports 64, 64 a powered by a laser or lasers 66.As can be further seen, the laser 66 is activated by a laser controlswitch 68. By activating the control switch 68, the laser 68 is turnedon and light indicator beams are sent out their respective laser ports64, 64 a to project an indicating spot at some distance from the handapplication tool 16 that is easily seen by the operator. Besides lasers,any other known optical beam may be used for this purpose.

In operation, the sealant spacer strip 14 is applied to the top face ofthe glass sheet 12 by inserting the strip 14 underneath the frontpositioning roller 34 and between the positioning pins 42, 42 a and 43to contact the down-pressure roller 52. The user then rolls the handtoll along the work table supported by the front and back rollers 30, 30a and 32, 32 a with the guide rollers 36, 38, and 40 engaging the sideof the glass sheet. The user holds the sealant spacer strip 14 to bedeployed above and in front of the tool 16 so that the top surface ofthe sealant spacer strip 14 engages the front positioning roller 34. Asthe sealant spacer strip 14 is deployed, it is guided by the positioningpins 42, 42 a and 43 laterally and front positioning roller 34vertically, moves through the guideway and vertically engages thedown-pressure roller 52, which serves to apply a pressure on the sealantspacer strip 14 to secure it to the glass sheet 12.

The targeting system allows the user to watch the indicator lightsprojected from the laser ports 64, 64 a to determine when the handapplication tool 16 has reached a corner and the sealant spacer strip 14needs to be notched and then where the hand application tool 16 needs beturned or pivoted. In other words, the first laser port 64 projects anindicator light beam that is easily viewable by the user to show theuser where the sealant spacer strip 14 should be notched. The useraligns the first indicator light with the edge of the glass sheet 12,provided the angle of the corner is ninety degrees, and then activatesthe cutting blade activation button 50 to notch the sealant spacer strip14. The user then moves the hand application tool 16 along the sealantspacer strip 14 until the second indicator light beam from the secondlaser port 64 a aligns with the edge of the glass sheet 12. At thispoint, the centerline of the down-pressure roller 52 will be immediatelyabove the notch. The user pivots the hand application tool 16 about thisthe centerline of down-pressure roller 52 to form a corner in thesealant spacer strip 14. The process is then repeated for the next sideof the glass sheet.

While in accordance with the patent statutes, the best mode andpreferred embodiment has been set forth, the scope of the invention isnot limited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached claims.Although the invention has been described above in relation to specificforms, it should be evident to the persons skilled in the art that itmay be modified and defined in various ways and should not be limited ininterpretation, except by the terms of the following claims.

1-9. (Cancelled)
 10. A method for assembling an insulated glassassembly, comprising steps of: using a hand tool for applying a spacerstrip along a glass sheet, said hand tool including a means fordeploying a spacer strip onto a glass sheet, an adjustable guide meansfor increasing or decreasing a distance from an edge of said glass sheetat which said spacer strip is deployed and a notching means for notchingsaid spacer strip, applying said spacer strip to a first edge of a topface of said glass sheet; notching said spacer strip with said hand toolwhen said spacer strip reaches a first corner of said glass sheet;applying said spacer strip to a second edge of said glass sheet;notching said spacer strip with said hand tool when said spacer stripreaches a second corner of said glass sheet; applying said spacer stripto a third edge of said glass sheet; notching said spacer strip withsaid hand tool when said spacer strip reaches a third corner of saidglass sheet; applying said spacer strip to a forth edge of said glasssheet; and cutting said spacer strip.
 11. The method of claim 10 whereinsaid handtool further comprises a targeting system located inside orattached thereto, capable of projecting a light indicator, said methodfurther comprising a step of: identifying when said spacer strip reachessaid first corner of said glass sheet from said light indicator.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 wherein said handtool further comprises a targetingsystem located inside or attached thereto, capable of projecting firstand second light indicators, said method further comprising steps of:identifying when said spacer strip reaches said first corner of saidglass sheet from said first light indicator; after notching said spacerstrip, identifying a pivoting position at which to pivot said spacerstrip about said first corner; and pivoting said spacer strip about saidfirst corner before applying said spacer strip to said second edge. 13.The method of claim 12 wherein the identifying and pivoting steps areperformed at each corner of said glass sheet.
 14. The method of claim 13wherein identifying when said spacer strip reaches said first corner ofsaid glass sheet includes aligning said first indicator light with anedge of said glass sheet.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein identifyinga pivoting position at which to pivot said spacer strip about said firstcorner includes aligning said second indicator light with an edge ofsaid glass sheet.
 16. The method of claim 10 wherein said handtoolfurther comprises guide rollers for engaging with said glass sheet andfor engaging with a work table, and said method comprises placing saidglass sheet onto a work table and engaging said handtool with said glasssheet and said work table.
 17. An apparatus for laying a sealant spacerstrip along a glass sheet, said apparatus comprising: a housing meansfor deploying the sealant spacer adhesive strip and including adown-pressure means for providing pressure for applying the sealantspacer strip onto the glass sheet; a handle means for allowing anoperator of said apparatus to hold said apparatus in a hand; and anadjustable guide plate means for controlling a distance of saidapparatus from an edge of said glass sheet.
 18. The apparatus of claim17 further comprising: a targeting means for projecting at least oneindicator light for indicating a position of said apparatus proximate tosaid glass substrate.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising:a cutting means for cutting the sealant spacer strip.
 20. The apparatusof claim 18 wherein said targeting means projects a first indicatorlight indicating when the apparatus is in position at a corner of saidglass sheet indicated when to cut said sealant spacer strip, andprojects a second indicator light indicating when the apparatus is inposition to turn said apparatus about said corner.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 17 wherein said housing means comprises a front positioning rollerand at least one guide pin to form a guideway for deploying the sealantspacer strip, and said down-pressure means comprises a down-pressureroller to provide pressure for applying the sealant spacer strip ontothe glass sheet.
 22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said targetingmeans comprises at least one laser.